Sunflower
by Wickermayne
Summary: Ino knows all about Naruto. The loudmouth, the prankster, the obnoxious kid in that tacky orange jacket. Being on the same team as him is another knock on her life. But, when he talks to her, when he trains with her, when his hands grip hers and it warms her throughout, and when he smiles like it's just meant for her, she thinks, maybe, she wants to know more. NarutoxIno.
1. Chapter 1

When they were in the academy, Ino hated Naruto for the obvious reasons. Him being an obnoxious prankster, the worst student in the class, his ear-damaging voice, and his horrendously tacky orange jumpsuit.

That was over two months ago.

Now she hates Naruto because of his fighting style. His brawler style is so sloppy, with wide arcing swings and telegraphed kicks. His solid clones help his cause, but opponents just need to deal with _more_ sloppiness. Surprisingly, Naruto is not the stupidest when it comes to understanding his own fighting style and he's adapted. He takes a punch, just so he can get a fistful of shirt. He takes a kick, just so he can grab a leg. And in the worst cases, he lets himself get stabbed, just so he can get some leverage.

And Ino _hates_ Naruto for it.

They are on another C-rank mission, escorting a minor noble. Bandits attack them. They've faced bandits before, on previous missions, but these ones are tougher. Ino remembers Sasuke muttering about them being ex-nin while they fight. Kakashi-sensei, of course, focuses on protecting the client.

Ino dispatches one of the grunts and turns around to see Naruto take a huge hit from the largest bandit. A towering man with bulky arms and legs. She can hear the bones creaking as the man's leg lodges itself into Naruto's rib cage. Naruto barely flinches, instead grabbing the man's leg and pulling hard, forcing the man to lose his balance.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hisses, and the young avenger jumps over the blonde, delivering a swift knee to the bandit's nose. There's a terrible 'crunch' sound and loud screech from the bandit as he falls forward, passed out.

They see Kakashi deal with the last bandit and Naruto falls onto his butt, letting out a laugh that causes his face to contort in pain. Ino finds herself already by his side, scowling at the idiot. Her hands placed gently on his ribcage, causing him to wince, as she begins to use her rudimentary medical ninjutsu on him. Her hands glow green and Naruto's hiss of pain slowly turns into a moan of relief as the jutsu takes effect.

Ino knows she is terrible at medical ninjutsu. She did not have any interest in learning it, but Naruto hurt himself so much, and no amount of yelling would get him to change his ways, so she compromised by learning the basic techniques. It showed in her actual abilities, however. What takes the average practitioner one minute to heal, it takes Ino about five. However, for some reason, Naruto's body takes extremely well to healing and what normally takes Ino five minutes to heal, she can do in about thirty seconds on Naruto.

Kakashi comes to check up on them. "Is everyone alright?" He glances at Naruto with some concern.

"Nothing Ino can't fix!" Naruto beams up at their sensei.

"Hn." Sasuke responds.

Ino does not say anything, but she wants to punch Naruto for letting himself break ribs over a bandit. Who cares if they're ex-nin or whatever!

"I'm glad to hear so. Sasuke and I will head back to the carriage to guard the client, you two join us after healing and we will be on our way." Kakashi tells his pupils, and he turns to walk back to the noble.

"Hey, teme, nice knee, eh?" Naruto calls out to their other teammate, whose lips upturn ever so slightly before he heads back to the carriage as well.

It takes Ino ten more minutes to finish healing his rib cage. Naruto chatters away, but Ino does not respond, since it takes more concentration than she would like to keep up the technique. When she finished, she wipes away the beads of sweat that formed on her forehead and lets out a sigh of accomplishment.

Naruto stands up, dusting off the back of his pants, and offers his hand to Ino. She takes it and he pulls her up. Ino is taller than him by an inch or two. She looks down at him and sees Naruto staring back, his cerulean eyes twinkling. He still has her hand in his, it is warm, and she can feel the roughness of it. It feels strange, contrasting with her soft hands that she takes care of with lotions and creams. Holding his hand makes her feel anxious for no good reason and she's about to pull away, when Naruto smiles at her. It's a warm smile, and Ino forgets about removing his hand for a moment.

"Thanks, Ino." His voice is gentle, and it's nothing like the Naruto she thinks she knows.

"No problem." Ino barely whispers, but Naruto hears. He lets go of her hand and walks over to their teammate and sensei, and she follows him.

She hates that Naruto lets himself get hurt like that. She hates that Naruto thinks protecting her and Sasuke means throwing himself in harms way.

She still hates Naruto now like she hated him during their academy days, but its just for a different reason.

* * *

Ino remembers the few weeks before, when the team returned from their mission in the Land of Waves. It was the most harrowing experience of her young life. Fighting missing-nin was not an exciting experience, it was a horrifying one. Their encounter with Zabuza made her tremble in fear. But the scariest part was that Sasuke and Naruto risked their lives to fight Zabuza and Haku and to protect her and they nearly died. Sasuke being at death's door was the source of her nightmares for a while after the mission.

Ino seriously considered retiring from being a shinobi. She provided no value during the mission. Her sensor capabilities did not help them find those two ninja hiding as puddles, or Zabuza hiding in the mist. Her Mind Transfer jutsu was useless against high ranking ninja who could not be pinned down. The whole mission she did not feel like a kunoichi. She felt like a little girl playing ninja. It infuriated her, but it mostly depressed her.

These were the thoughts she reflected on when Naruto entered the Yamanka's shop.

"Heya Ino, I need a new watering can." Naruto said as he strolled up to the counter.

"You have plants?" Ino did not believe Naruto to be the green thumb type.

"Yup," He chirped, "got lots of pretty plants. You should come by and see them sometime."

"No, thanks." Ino was blunt. Naruto just shrugged in a 'suit-your-self' manner. "Well, the watering can section is over there." Ino pointed to one corner of the store. Naruto nodded and walked over, taking his time to browse before he made his selection. It's an orange coloured can. Ino lacks her usual snark in her to make fun of him.

"That's 45 ryo." Ino's tone is dull. She just wants for him to go home so she can stew in her thoughts.

Naruto fished out the money from his toad wallet. He placed it in her hand and picked up the watering can but does not leave. Instead he scanned her face, taking a long look into her eyes, and it pissed Ino off.

"What?" Ino snapped at the boy. Her irritation overriding her depression. Naruto does not cower. Instead he rubbed the back of his head and she can see him thinking for a moment before he opened his mouth.

"You are a good teammate Ino. Me n' Sasuke are glad you're on our team. The three of us, we are going to be the best team in Konoha, y'know?" There is a pregnant silence. "I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Naruto smiled at her and left.

The back of Ino's throat hurts, and hot tears rolled down her face. She wants to be a ninja, she does. More than liking Sasuke, more than her fears of failure, she wants to be a damn good kunoichi. So, she will just have to work harder. Put in the blood, sweat, and tears so she's not useless anymore. So, she can stand by Naruto and Sasuke as equals. She wipes her tears. That night, she slept peacefully.

She visited Naruto later, to see his plants. He takes good care of them, she can tell. Ino noticed his watering can is green and in good condition.

When she thinks about it, Ino is kind of mad it took _Naruto_ of all people to set her straight.

* * *

Since they became genin, Ino found herself spending way more time with Naruto then she ever thought possible. It's not that she particularly liked Naruto, or that she would rather be with him over Sasuke, but Ino is a social creature by nature. Sasuke does not like talking, and Naruto will not stop talking.

It was a relationship of circumstance, really.

While Ino was lukewarm about her fellow blonde, he had become comfortable with her quickly. A far cry when they met on the rooftop their first day as team seven, snapping at each others' throats. Naruto, she found, was the type to claim friendship after eating a bowl of ramen together. She could tell he even had a unique fondness for Sasuke, although Naruto would never admit to any sort of positive affection for the raven-haired shinobi.

Sometimes she and Naruto would get lunch, or she would force him shopping with her, sometimes they would hang out at the flower shop and Ino would make him do some of her chores, and occasionally, _occasionally_, she would do his favourite activity and train with him. Which is what they did that day.

As much as Ino bemoaned the way Naruto fights, he is better at taijutsu than she is. He is physically strong, even though he does not look it. His frame belies the power his punches truly have. He's agile too, able to bob and weave around Ino's attacks. But the most annoying thing about training with Naruto is that he never wants to quit.

Ino laid on her side, breathing heavily from the exertion of their many bouts. They were training for at least two hours straight. Her muscles ached from head to toe, and she knows it will be worse tomorrow. On the other hand, Ino can see Naruto a few feet away, squatting. His arms resting on his knees, and his forearms hanging off them, his knuckles barely grazing the grass beneath them. He is perspiring, but not like Ino. Ino is drenched, her hair sticking messily to her face, her shirt darkened by the sweat. She looks like she dipped her upper half in a lake. Naruto meanwhile has some sweat dripping off his face and neck, but otherwise looks fresh.

Naruto is peering at Ino from his location, head tilted, enjoying the breeze. "Ready to go again?"

Ino scowls. "I'm exhausted, Naruto. Can't you see?"

Naruto squints at her but does not say anything. Instead he raises from his crouch and heads over to his jacket, which he had taken off before and thrown under a tree. He reaches in and pulls out a canteen. He throws it at Ino without a word, but she's not ready for it and it hits her in the side of the head.

"What the hell, you doofus?" Ino snarls, getting up.

"Sorry!" Naruto winces in guilt. "It's water."

Ino huffs at Naruto, but picks up the canteen and drinks from it, nonetheless. The water tastes amazing after their training. She did not realize how parched she was until she feels the liquid run down her throat. Ino drinks about half the water and throws the canteen back at Naruto with more force than required. It does not matter, since Naruto catches it with ease, but it was worth a shot. Naruto seemed to have noticed, however, and stuck his tongue out in retaliation.

Naruto throws his head back and chugs down the rest of the water. "Whooo, that hit the spot!" Naruto exclaims after he finishes, wiping the droplets of water that escaped his mouth and ran down his lips with the back of his arm. He summoned a shadow clone and told it to go fill up the canteen. The shadow clone grumbled but did as it was told.

Convenient, Ino thought.

Naruto walks over to where she is and lies down next to her, splaying himself like a starfish and staring at the sky. Ino snorts.

"Who are you? Shikamaru."

Naruto grins and points to one of the clouds, "That one looks like a bird, dontcha think?"

Ino lies down, crossing her arms in front of her. "I can kind of see it, I guess."

The two took turns pointing out different cloud shapes to each other, arguing about a lot of them.

"Here, dummy." The shadow clone returned, dropping the filled canteen on Naruto's face, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke by dispelling itself.

"Ow!" Naruto cried, rubbing his nose.

"Wow, your clones even know you're a loser, huh." Ino giggled.

"Haha, so funny." Naruto rolled his eyes at his fellow blonde, a scowl stuck on his face. A comfortable silence overtook the two as they just stared at the sky and enjoyed the gentle breeze.

"Hey, Naruto." Ino started, picking at a piece of grass next to her.

"Hm?"

"How come you train with me, and not Sasuke-kun? He'd probably be a better training partner than me." She was half expecting Naruto to say he was better than Sasuke, or that Sasuke would hold him back…something along those lines.

Naruto sat up, tucking one knee close to his body and letting the other leg lay out. "You know, I want all three of us to train together. But he doesn't want to, cause he's stronger than me, and he's busy trying to do all that revenge stuff. I don't know, guess he thinks we aren't as important as that." Ino can hear the heat in Naruto's voice. She looks him in the eye, and she can see the frustration; the hurt, even. She does not know what to say, so, instead, she reaches over and gently rubs the back of his hand.

Naruto enjoys the sensation for a moment, before clasping her hand in his. His eyes soften, "Besides, you're a great training partner." He grins, "You just gotta stop acting so lazy! Now c'mon, lets practice some more taijutsu." Ino groans in dissatisfaction, but lets Naruto pull her up, and they begin training some more.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto and I are going to get some lunch and talk about the chunin exam forms Kakashi-sensei gave us. Do you want to come along?" Ino twirled a few strands of hair around her finger reflexively. She hoped Sasuke did not think she was being too flirty, she even included Naruto in her invitation, so he would not think she was just asking him on a date. She knew Sasuke hated when girls tried to flirt with him.

"No thanks, I don't have to think about it. I'm going to be at the academy to hand in the application tomorrow…you guys be there too." Sasuke spoke plainly before he departed the group.

"Tch, that guy. Always acting too cool for school. I didn't know we were going to get lunch together, today. Where do you want to go?" Naruto asked, rocking on his heels, hands clasped behind his head.

Ino sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Just her luck that she ends up eating with Naruto instead of Sasuke. She supposes that is karma for trying to use him to get a lunch date with Sasuke.

"Anywhere but ramen."

"Ah man, you are no fun!" Naruto pouts. "Fine, lets go that barbeque place you like."

"Sounds good. I'll race you there, loser has to pay for lunch!" Ino smirked, already sprinting towards the restaurant.

Naruto stood agape before he realized what happened and chased after her. "Oi, wait up, you cheater!"

The two raced towards their destination. Ino realized that Naruto might have short legs, but he was pretty quick, and he ended up just beating her out to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Even with your cheap tricks, you're no match for me!" Naruto gloated, pointing his thumb at himself proudly.

"Wow, Naruto, you're really fast." Ino said, her voice sickly sweet. "You're super cool."

"Hehe, thanks, I know." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at Ino's praise.

"A super cool and nice guy like you wouldn't let a girl pay for his lunch, right?"

"Hey, you can't trick me twice! You promised the loser would pay." Naruto pointed angrily at his fellow blonde.

"Pleeeease, Naruto! Just this once. Can't you let it go, for me?" Ino fluttered her eyelashes at the boy, eyes wide and doe-like.

A small blush spread across Naruto's face at Ino's act. "Uhh, fine. You're lucky I'm such a swell guy! If it was Sasuke, he'd make you pay up for sure." Naruto scowled, but relented to his teammates demands. He turned around, heading towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Thanks so much!" Ino wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, hugging him from behind. She saw the boy's cheeks stain a darker red, and that made her giggle.

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Now let go, people are staring!" Naruto heatedly replied, smacking her hand gently in a gesture for her to release him. Naruto walked into the restaurant, talked to the waitress and then led Ino to one of the booths. As they waited for the waitress to bring the food, Naruto began talking, "Say, Ino, what do you think about the chunin exams?"

"I'm not sure. I think its kind of early for us. We've only been a team for a few months." Ino told her honest opinion, but she saw Naruto sag from it. She knew he was excited to take it.

"So, uh, are you going to turn in the application?" Ino could tell he was trying to sound casual, but was hiding his worry that she would say no.

"I'm still thinking about it. I mean, I don't want to let Sasuke or you down, but I don't feel strong enough. You guys can easily take it without me."

"No way, don't think like that Ino! You're plenty strong, plus we are wayyyy stronger as a team. Me and Sasuke need you." Naruto's voice was loud enough to draw attention from other patrons.

"Quiet down, Naruto. You're disturbing the other customers." Ino scolded the boy, but internally she was please with his sweet words. Whenever she felt down about her impact on the team, Naruto always seemed to notice and cheer her up.

"What's this? Are you guys talking about the chunin exams?" Ino and Naruto turned to see a bearded man with tanned skin talking to them. It was Asuma-sensei. Along with him were his three students. Shikamaru, Choji, and-

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed in delight, his voice just as loud as before. "Yeah, we are, are you guys going to enter too? C'mon sit down with us!" Naruto blabbered, scooting over to the end of the table, making space for the others.

"That's nice of you, Naruto. What do you say, guys?" Asuma addressed his team. Choji had already moved into the seat next to Naruto. The blonde boy frowning.

"Hey, I wanted Sakura-chan to sit next to me!"

"Not in you dreams, Naruto." Sakura sniffed in disgust, then hesitantly sat next to Ino. "Pig." She greeted, curtly.

"Forehead." Ino accompanied her retort with a glare that Sakura returned.

"What a drag. I was hoping for a quiet lunch. Instead I get two loud blondes." Shikamaru drawled, sitting next to Choji, leaving the last seat on Ino's side for Asuma. It was a tight fit for both sides of the booth, but especially so for Naruto's side. Naruto himself was pushing against Choji, trying to make extra space for himself. The larger boy paid no mind, and Naruto eventually gave up.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, looking around for the heartthrob.

"We asked him to come, but teme went home to jackoff." Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Both girls exclaimed his name in disgust at his crassness. Choji chortled and Shikamaru was smirking.

"I didn't see Kakashi around either. So, you guys didn't come as a team?" Asuma asked the two.

"Nah, it's just me n' Ino." Naruto replied absent-mindedly, looking around for the waitress to see if she was brining the meats yet.

"Oh my god, so you two, are like, on a date?" Sakura asked, her lips nearly splitting from her grin.

"It's not a date!" Ino hotly exclaimed. She realized how harsh a sudden retort like that would sound and glanced at Naruto, but he did not seem affected by it.

"Me and Ino, get food all the time." Naruto commented. "Man, this waitress is taking forever!"

"All the time?" Sakura squealed. "Does this mean I have less competition for Sasuke-kun?"

"Nah, Ino's still as crazy about him as ever." Naruto replied, turning his vision over to the pink-haired girl. "Why don't you forget that guy and go out with me, Sakura-chan?" He winked at her.

"Ew." Sakura sneered.

"No need to be mean, Forehead." Ino frowned at her friend's behaviour.

"Anyway," Asuma begin, eager to steer the conversation away from love-talk. "Our team is applying for the chunin exams, how about yourselves?"

"Really, Forehead, you are taking the exams?" Ino asked, the thought that Sakura would compete was incredulous to her.

"Hey, our team is good!" Choji interjected, a frown on his face.

"Yea, you guys, maybe, but Sakura?"

"Don't be mean to Sakura-chan!" Naruto defended his crush.

"You should be on my side, Naruto. She was so rude to you just a second ago." Ino folded her arms and scowled at her teammate.

"We know our teams' strength, and Sakura is a part of it. Personally, I think this whole thing is a waste of time, but we will do better than you guys." Shikamaru cut in. Ino was surprised Shikamaru would take the time to defend Sakura. She knew he was the loyal type, but it still seemed like too much effort for him.

"Oh, yea? Just wait, Shikamaru. Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and I will wipe the floor with you guys." Ino jeered at her childhood friend, her nervousness about applying for the exam, all but dissipated.

"Does that mean you are going to sign the application?" Naruto asked, hopefully.

"Of course! We gotta show them we're the best rookie team."

"Don't sound so confident if you just thought about signing the application right now, pig."

"Why, I outta-"

"Food's here." Asuma interrupted, passing around the uncooked meats and vegetables.

"Oh boy, I was starving." The Akimichi member said, drool escaping the corner of his mouth.

"Me too." Naruto licked his lips.

They began cooking the food, Ino and Sakura mostly chatting with one another while the three boys boasted about their training. Asuma was mostly silent, enjoying the warm atmosphere of the two friendly teams.

"Hey, Ino, stop piling all the veggies on my side!" Naruto shouted at his fellow blonde.

Ino sternly responded, "Shut up, Naruto. If I didn't force you to eat veggies, you would have got scurvy by now." She placed more vegetables on his side of the grill. "And eat some of those raw too!"

Naruto pouted, but did not argue with the girl, taking some raw peppers and cabbage onto his plate.

"She's got you whipped, eh?" Shikamaru remarked, grinning. Choji laughed while Asuma choked a bit on his drink. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the boy but kept eating.

"Shut up, Shika." Ino rolled her eyes at the shadow user. Ino noticed Sakura staring at her. "What is it, Forehead?"

Her friend leaned over, so she could whisper in Ino's ear. "Are you guys really not dating?"

"Of course not! I still like Sasuke-kun! Naruto is just a good friend."

"Oh, okay. It's just…never mind. My mistake." Sakura leaned back, frowning, but accepting Ino's remark.

"What are you two whispering about? How devilishly handsome I look today?" Naruto asked the two, wiggling his eyebrows at them.

"Puh-lease, Naruto. We were talking about how awesome Sasuke-kun is, right Sakura?" Ino wrapped an arm around Sakura's.

"Uh, yeah." The pink-haired kunoichi was startled by the sudden physical contact from her rival, could not say anything other than agree with the blonde.

"Bah, whatever. Hey, Shikamaru, Choji, I saw a cloud the other day and totally looked like a bag of chips!" Naruto went back to talking to the other male members of team ten. The six ninja chatted and ate, eventually leaving the restaurant after a few hours. Before, Ino and Naruto could leave, Sakura pulled on Ino's arm and dragged her a few feet away.

"What is it Forehead?" Ino noticed her rival was slightly flushed.

"Ino, you've kind of, you know, mellowed out since the last time we talked." Sakura started, looking at her feet.

"Have I? I don't feel much different." Ino shrugged.

"Well, I notice it. And I, uh, I want to, you know…"

"Oh, just spit it out already, Sakura!" Ino huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face in irritation.

"I want to be friends again! I know we both still like Sasuke-kun, but I had a good time at the restaurant, and I was hop-" Sakura's plea was cut off as Ino wrapped her arms around her fellow kunoichi who was squealing in delight.

"What are you even saying, Forehead? Of course, we can be friends again." She smiled warmly. "I mean the whole thing with Sasuke-kun was so stupid. Why can't I like him and you as well?"

"Yeah, yeah it was. After becoming a genin, the last three months, it made me realise some of the stuff we fought about was so petty." Sakura admitted. "I'm glad we can say we are friends again…but our team is going to clobber yours in the exam." Sakura was grinning now.

"Oh please, we have Sasuke-kun!" Ino laughed, letting go of her friend.

"Yea, and you have Naruto too." Sakura pointed out.

"He's…he's not so bad." Ino defended the blonde. "We will find out soon, anyway. See you later, Sakura."

"Bye, Ino." The two friends smiled at each other before departing with the rest of their teams.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked, the two of them walking towards the academy. Naruto had his hands in his pocket, while Ino had hers clasped behind her back, a large smile on her face.

"Oh, nothing. Me and Forehead are friends again."

Naruto blinked, contemplating her words. "Wait, when were you guys not?"

* * *

"Hm, you guys made it." Sasuke spoke nonchalantly, but the corner of his lips were threatening to tug upwards.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, teme." Naruto pumped his fist in the air, earning a giggle from Ino.

"I'm…glad." The avenger said, quickly turning around so his teammates would not see his face. The words made Ino swoon a bit, and she could see the large grin plastered on Naruto's face. Stepping into the academy building, the three of them never felt like more of a team than at that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, anymore retirements?" The sickly proctor asked before covering his mouth to let out a raspy cough. Ino bit her lower lip, eyes flickering between her two teammates and the proctor. Images of Sasuke's cursed mark flashed in her mind, swirling inks of darkness intruding on his arms and face. His canines peeking out between his lips, face twisted in a garish smile that belonged on villains, not the proud Uchiha heir. And the malicious energy that seeped out of him when the mark danced on his skin. The evil energy had sapped him of his strength such that he could barely walk to the end of the second exam.

She thought about Naruto too. He was also exhausted, it was plain to see. Between fighting the giant snake, attempting to stave off that Orochimaru freak and pretty much single handily beating the three mist genin, he looked as if he was on his last legs.

She grasped each of their arms and pulled them close, enough so she could whisper to them. "We should quit."

"What?" Sasuke barked, his right arm massaging his neck, his body was trembling under the stress his body accrued from the cursed seal. Naruto looked shocked, his eyebrows raising up and hiding behind his headband.

"Sasuke-kun, you've been so strange since that Orochimaru guy attacked you. Your mark still hurts right? Look you're trembling! And Naruto, you spent way too much chakra. We can always come back next year." Ino pleaded to her teammates, her finger gripping tighter around their wrists.

"What mark?" Naruto asked, confused. Sasuke pulled his wrist away from Ino, glaring at the girl.

"It's nothing, Naruto." Sasuke grounded out through clenched teeth.

"Guys, please, you are in no condition to fight." Ino could feel stubborn tears well up in her eyes and she rubbed them harshly. She did not want to be a cry baby. This was not about being scared or hopeless, it was about caring about her precious teammates. "Please, especially you Sasuke-kun, you've been hiding the pain from the mark this whole time, haven't you? If you don't quit, I'll tell sens-" She was cut of when Sasuke gripped her shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"Shut up about the mark." The shinobi hissed, his onyx eye's cloudy with anger. Ino felt her breath catch in her throat. She had never seen Sasuke direct such an expression at her before.

"Sasuke." Naruto warned, taking a step toward the last Uchiha. Sasuke ignored the blonde boy, his eyes trained on Ino's.

"I told you, didn't I? I am an avenger." Sasuke withdrew his hand from her shoulder, but his eyes never left hers. She was finally receiving the attention she wanted from her crush, but certainly not the way she wanted to. "Passing, failing, I don't care. Am I strong? Can I get stronger? Those are the answers I will find here." Sasuke took a step back, breathing in. "If you take that away from me…I won't forgive you."

Ino swallowed thickly, barely lubricating her dry throat.

"Sasuke, asshole, she just cares about you. Why can't you see that?" Naruto snarled, breaking his quiet and stepping into the avenger's airspace. Shockingly, instead of a retort or a glare, the young Uchiha smiled genuinely at the whiskered shinobi.

"Naruto, I want to fight you too."

Ino could see her fellow blonde's face morph from frustration to something else entirely. It makes Ino feel bitter. She feels a lump form in her throat and she does her best to ignore it.

"Alright then, let's begin the preliminaries." The baggy-eyed protector started up, breaking team seven from their huddle. As they fall in line, Ino staring at the floor in a mixture of shame and frustration, she feels the back of Naruto's hand brush against the hers.

"Thanks for worrying, Ino." The blonde whispers, his warm breath tickles her ear. Ino hums in response, but she cannot bear to look at him.

* * *

She felt Naruto stiffen under her embrace. He smelt putrid, sweat and blood mixing into a repugnant odor, but it did not bother her as much as it should. His wiry arms delicately wrap around her back and she held the hug for another moment before pulling back, smiling at the disheveled youth.

"Congratulations, Naruto! You were awesome!" Ino beamed at him. Naruto's face was flushed red, embarrassed from the hug and praise.

"Thanks, Ino, you were really cool too." Naruto offered back, a large smile plastered on his face. Ino just snorted.

"I lost."

"Nah, you tied." Naruto frowned.

"Tying with forehead is the same as losing, duh." Ino stuck her tongue out, expecting a retort from the shorter blonde defending his crush. Instead the boy laughed, mirth reaching his eyes.

"Sakura's pretty good, don't sell her short. Or yourself. You were really cool." Naruto repeated, his hand reaching out, calloused fingers accidently brushing against her soft neck forcing a gasp out of the pretty kunoichi. She blushed at her unintentional response, but did not shy away from her teammate as he finally reached her chopped hair, running his fingers through the flayed ends. She would have never believed it, just a few months ago, but she felt completely comfortable with such an intimate gesture from the class clown.

"Haaah." Ino let out a sigh of disappointment. "It looks so ugly right?"

"What?" Naruto asked, almost startled as he pulled his hand away. "You can't look ugly, Ino, c'mon."

"Uh…" Ino started, but no words came out. She could feel her neck reddening at the blatant compliment. "I-I just meant my hair, dummy." Ino mumbled, stupidly feeling shy under Naruto's gaze.

"Well, I mean it's nicer than my haircut!" Naruto joked, causing Ino to let out a small giggle erasing her embarrassment. Naruto took a moment to look around the stadium, scanning for their teacher. "Hey, where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"At the hospital, with Sasuke-kun."

"Oh right, let's go see the bastard." Naruto said wrapping his arms behind is head in his usual habit.

"I don't know Naruto, he probably needs rest, we shouldn't bother him." Ino bit her lower lip anxiously.

Naruto rolled his eyes in response, "Jeez, Ino, you know I can't go to sleep unless I've bothered him at least once a day. Time to go fill my quota." Naruto grinned impishly at kunoichi before he bounded off towards the exist.

"Ohhh, Naruto!" Her smiled cut through the effectiveness of her growl as she followed after him.

* * *

"Yow!" Naruto yelled, jumping up off the bench holding his neck where Ino had placed the ice-cold bottle against. His fellow blonde raised an eyebrow at his display and proffered the bottle toward him. Banana-flavoured milk. Naruto took it while leveling a glare at the kunoichi. Ino had enough common sense to make sure Naruto went home to pick up a spare set of clothing to wear, and he was dressed in a black t-shirt with a spiral design in the middle and another pair of orange pants.

"Don't you feel soooo much better? Nothing like a good soak in the hot springs." Ino purred as she ran a hand through her shorter, but now silky-smooth locks. She was wearing an orange top with the Yamanaka Flower Shop sign on it and white capri pants.

"I should be training right now." Naruto grumbled before ripping off the bottle cap and chugging the milk. "Good." He grunted in satisfaction.

"Are you going to die if you don't train for one day? You have a whole month to prepare, besides you smelt like shit right after finishing the third exam, how on Earth did you expect to keep training like that?"

"Wow, rude." The boy legitimately looked hurt by the remark. Ino just rolled her eyes at him. She sat down on the bench, unscrewing the cap of her strawberry milk, taking a few sips. The refreshing feeling of the fruity milk after soaking her exhausted muscles and bones in the hot springs was almost unparalleled and she let out a sigh of content. Naruto sat next to her, beginning to bounce his leg, a manifestation of his restless energy. He eventually settled down, propping an elbow against his thigh and leaning his face into his palm. He faced Ino, watching her finish up the drink.

"What?" Ino asked taking Naruto's empty bottle and throwing it away along with hers.

"I don't think I've seen you with your hair down much." Naruto responded, standing up from the bench.

"Well, I usually save my sexy look for cuter boys." Ino winked at him and fluffing her hair flamboyantly.

"You don't look sexy, you look cute." Naruto snorted, oblivious to the fact that she was making a joke and also insulted him.

Annoyingly, Ino felt her neck heating up once again. She was confused on how she should feel about the boy's blunt comment. Angry that he didn't think she was sexy, embarrassed that he could compliment her so bold-faced, flattered that he thought she was cute or maybe grossed out that he thought she was cute? Did he insult her or compliment her, or both? Before she could gather her thoughts, she saw her fellow blonde's face flush, as if he just realized what he said.

"I, um, y'know that is…boy am I hungry!" Ino watched in annoyance as the boy decided to completely avoid the issue at hand. "What about you Ino, want to get some food?"

Ino crossed her arms and glared at the blonde. "You're paying." Ino said flatly, her teammate cringing, but maintaining an awkward smile. "And no ramen, we're getting sushi."

"Haha, of course, I enjoy some raw fish every now and then." Naruto said with a fake laugh, trying to hold back his disgust. He turned almost robotically and began walking towards the exit. "Follow me."

Ino smiled and clasped her hands behind her back following the shorter blonde. When she came closer to him, she leaned over and whispered, "You know, I wasn't really mad." Her breath washed over his ear, reddening it. Naruto turned his head sharply, covering the ear and staring at his teammate.

"Wait, so does that mean I don't have to pay?"

Ino laughed in a very unfeminine way, before shoving Naruto in the back, hurrying him along.

* * *

Ino entered the shower mulling about how boring training was without a partner. Especially if that partner is as talkative, rambunctious, and maybe even a little bit funny, as Naruto was. Two weeks passed since she had last seen the loud mouth and she was starting to miss his grating presence. She spent her time after the third exam taking care of her family's shop, hanging out with Sakura, visiting Sasuke, and training.

She sent a few hours that day practicing her kunai and shuriken throwing and also worked on perfecting a new Yamanaka jutsu her father showed her, the Mind Body Disturbance Technique. Her father was reluctant to give her the information on how to perform the jutsu, no doubt he felt she was too unpolished to attempt to learn it, but a few puppy-eye looks and a few bribes of his favourite snack and she was finally able to pry the technique from him. Unlike the Mind Body Transfer, this new jutsu let her maintain her consciousness. She had made some progress with the jutsu, but it was going painfully slow. She knew, however, once she mastered it, the mileage from the jutsu would be incredible.

Lathering her hair with collagen-infused, full-bodied herbal shampoo, Ino began fantasizing about using the jutsu with her teammates.

The enemy ninja already defeated Kakashi-sensei before kicking Naruto away. Bearing down on the battered Sasuke-kun she would jump in, "Don't touch Sasuke-kun! Take this, Mind Body Disturbance jutsu!"

"Gahhh!" The shinobi would scream as his nervous system is zapped by the powerful technique. "I-I can't control myself!" Ino made the enemy club himself in the head, knocking himself out.

"S-so cool." Naruto whimpered on the ground before passing out.

Ino ran next to Sasuke-kun, reaching down to help him up, the delicate and bruised bishounen somehow looking sexy with his cuts and bruises, his blue top barely hanging onto his shoulder, exposing some perfectly porcelain skin. "See Sasuke-kun…I can help you; I can be strong just like you." She reached out a hand to help him up.

Bashfully he grasped her hand, looking up at his savior eyes fluttering in awe. "Ino-chan…I think I'm falling in love with you."

Yeah right. Ino snorted at her absurd delusion, rinsing out the shampoo before lathering her hair again, this time with strawberry-scented, high volume conditioner.

Cerulean eyes met her aquamarine orbs, his eyes were filled with pride and joy. "That was damn cool, Ino." Her hand is in his, the warmth from him radiates through her body somehow. It is unexplainably soothing. His hand is as rough as ever, and now hers is getting closer to that as well. His thumb gently slides across the back of her hand, the dragging sensation sending sparks down her spine before he flips her hand over bringing it to his face, his lips brushing against her newish callouses lovin-

"Kami!" Ino hisses out, pressing her forehead and against the cool tiles on the wall of the shower, the warm water cascading down her back and off her leg, taking with it the last remnants of the expensive conditioner. Her neck is burning as if the water was scalding rather than comfortably warm. Not seeing that idiot, doofus, obnoxious, tasteless blonde midget for a few weeks to remember what a clown he was had her going a bit looney.

She hurriedly exited the shower, drying herself off and quickly throwing on some clothes, ignoring her normal moisturizing routine, just so she can get away from the washroom and forget…whatever that was.

Ino stomped down the stairs leading toward the shop floor. Swinging the door open more aggressively than she needed, she saw a shock of pink hair as her best friend was crouching observing some flowers.

"Heyyy forehead!" Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's neck leaning on top of her and nearly tumbling the shorter girl over, glad for a timely distraction.

"Ugh, pig, get off me!" Sakura shouted standing up and breaking Ino's grip. The blonde girl laughed at her friend's sour expression.

"Here to buy a flower huh, let me guess?"

"Yes, yes, it's for Sasuke-kun, okay." The emerald eyed girl interrupted, turning back to the flower selections on display. "Now, which one should I get?" She muttered to herself, but of course the blonde overheard.

"You should go for something simple, like a rose, it suits you." Ino remarked. Sakura turned a wary eye to her friend.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, you're really simple." The blonde's smile morphed into a smirk as Sakura let out a harrumph.

"Of course, should have seen that coming." Sakura, turned to a flower and picked it out. "I'll take a daffodil, a flower that keeps its beauty even throughout winter. A strong flower the waits for the hope of spring. With this Sasuke-kun will know I want him to recover as soon as possible!" Sakura said, running a finger along the flower's petals.

"Wow," Ino said, honestly impressed, "keep that up and you could get a job here."

Sakura peace signed in victory before plucking another flower. "I think I'll take one for Lee-san too."

Ino hesitated before speaking, "Sakura…did you hear about Lee-san?" Sakura turned toward the blonde, eyes widening slightly.

"No, what?"

"Well, I heard they said he might not be able to be a shinobi anymore…" Ino saw Sakura's face fall from the news. "Hey, c'mon, that's just what I heard. Who knows, maybe he'll make a full recovery." Ino tried to cheer up her friend.

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed, but it lacked any conviction. Anyone who saw the fight would not be surprised if Lee actually needed to quit being a shinobi.

Ino quickly picked out a flower, "Hey mom, put three flowers on my tab!" She shouted into the backroom, before any response came, she grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her out of the store. She smiled at her friend. "What? Thought I would let you Sasuke-kun by yourself? Keep dreaming forehead." Ino joked, hoping to alleviate some of Sakura's concern.

"You are so greedy pig, you get to see him all the time and now you are even following me to see him. Quite clingy one might say." Sakura shot back with a smirk to Ino's relief. The two headed towards the hospital, gossiping as usual. "How's Naruto?" Sakura asked innocently, but Ino felt her cheek twitch at his name.

"I…don't know, haven't seen him much since the last exam ended. He's busy training." She used all her training as a Yamanaka to make sure the shower fantasy is repressed.

The two made their way to the hospital only to find out Sasuke escaped. The two kunoichi sat on a bench near the entrance of the hospital, the flowers hanging limply in their hands.

"Where could Sasuke-kun have gone?" Ino sighed, twirling her flower in her fingers.

"Do you think it has anything with that guy you fought?" Sakura asked in a hush tone.

"Absolutely not! No way Sasuke would leave us for that…freak!" Ino replied with certainty, annoyed by the question, even though it was something she secretly worried about. She would never forget the hoarse voice making promises and threats from that disgusting human.

"Well, I guess we better find Lee-san then."

The two kunoichi asked the nurse for his room, only to be shocked when he too was missing.

"Where could he have gone?!" The nurse was panicking, about to run down the hall to look for the injured boy.

"Wait look, over there." Ino pointed through the window, where the bowl-cut boy was doing pushups despite one of his arms being in a cast.

"Oh my god!" The nurse yelled before bolting out the door and toward the first floor. The two kunoichi quickly followed her. As they arrived, the genin collapsed, causing the three to rush toward him.

The nurse gently turned Lee so he was on his back. "Can you two watch him while I get a stretcher?"

"Of course." Ino replied. The pair sat next to Lee, watching the unconscious boy as the nurse left.

"Hey, Ino." Sakura broke the silence, "Why do boys push themselves so hard?" Her eyes were watering.

Ino pondered the question for a moment. She remembers all the training she does with Naruto, his tenacity, his stamina, his encouragement. "I don't know Sakura…but maybe it's not that they push themselves so hard, but that we don't push hard enough."

Sakura seemed shocked by the answer, her mouth agape. She blinked rapidly, clearing the unshed tears from her eyes. "Yeah, maybe you're right." The two sat in silence again, waiting for the nurse and the stretcher.

* * *

Naruto slept soundly, his face a picture of peace. Without his headband, his hair flopped back, unruly in nature. Without all the yelling and shouting and weird expressions, Naruto, just a tiny bit, just a minuscule amount, looked kind of cute, Ino thought.

"Here again?" Shikamaru drawled, entering the hospital room and sitting in the chair opposite to Ino. He was holding a fruit basket.

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do." Ino shrugged, leaning back in her chair, hoping the shadow user missed her staring at the sleeping blonde, "And don't say it as if you don't pop by here every day too."

"I might as well, since I'm visiting Choji. It's more like…never mind it's too troublesome to think about." Shikamaru sighed.

"How's Choji doing anyhow?"

"He's fine, should be out tomorrow. Naruto is the real problem, if he doesn't wake up soon…"

"Don't worry about that, if he doesn't wake up by tonight, I'll slap him conscious!" Ino exclaimed, pumping a fist out.

"Jeez." Shikamaru knew that was a promise not a bluff. That is why women were so troublesome. "By the way, have you seen Sasuke? I heard he disappeared."

"No, I haven't, but I'm sure he is training with Kakashi-sensei." Ino replied, a giant yellow eye flashing in her mind for a moment.

"Then who was training Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, it was easy for his sensei to train him since he was the only one from his team to make it to the finals, but even then Shikamaru asked for more team practice rather than individual training.

Ino frowned, not considering the thought before. "I don't know. Whoever it was, Naruto must have been fine with it, or else he would have thrown a fit."

Shikamaru hummed in agreement, the blonde always let his displeasure be known to the public.

The sleeping blonde began to stir, drawing the attention of the childhood friends.

"Yo," Shikamaru smiled at the groggy blonde, "Finally awake, are ya?"

"Shikamaru? Ino?" Naruto asked looking around the room, his voice raspy. "Where am I?"

"A hospital, duh." Ino said. "You've been in here for three days now."

In an instant, the whiskered blonde bursted out of the hospital sheets, standing on the bed. The other two ninja looked at him with their mouths open.

"Three whole days?!" Naruto screeched, his hands in his hair, gripping tightly on his hair. "When are the main matches, huh?!"

"T-tomorrow." Shikamaru barely got out before Naruto grabbed him by his vest shaking the shadow user while freaking out.

Ino pulled Naruto's collar, forcing him to let go of his grip on Shikamaru, and threw him to the ground.

"Owww."

"Shut up, Naruto! Yelling at Shikamaru isn't going to do anything." She stood over him with her hands on her hips.

Naruto stood up rubbing his back. "Ouch, Ino, what are you going to do if I can't participate tomorrow coz you injured me?" He asked with a mock pout.

Ino rolled her eyes, "Well then I saved everyone some time watching you lose to Neji."

"Hey, uncalled for!" Naruto stood up and pointed agitatedly at the Yamanaka heir.

"Then stop being a wimp." Ino slapped him on his back, earing another yelp from the boy.

Shikamaru looked at Ino impressed. "Wow, you handled that loudmouth pretty well."

"He's not so bad, once you break him in a bit." Ino joked.

"Uh, I'm right here." Naruto crossed his arms, annoyed the two were mocking him. However, he was easily distracted by the fruit basket Shikamaru held. "Hey! Is that for me? I'm starving." Naruto reached out and picked up and apple, rubbing it on his shirt.

"That was for Choji, idiot!" Ino snatched the apple from Naruto, causing her fellow blonde's face to fall, his stomach beginning to growl.

"Nah, it's okay Ino. I brought it for Choji, but the doctor said he couldn't eat it anyway. Go ahead, Naruto." Shikamaru threw another apple at Naruto who caught it.

"Yatta! Thanks, Shikamaru."

"Great, now I feel like an asshole." Ino muttered.

"As long as you know it ~" Naruto sang, cleaning the apple on his shirt. "Ah!" Naruto stopped right before he took a bite of the apple.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked, the boy was making a painful face.

"We should totally go and eat these in front of Choji!" The whiskered youth snickered.

"What?" Ino asked, affronted by the boy's suggestion.

"What a drag…let's go." Ino turned to see that while the shadow user sounded reluctant, his large smirk told her he was not opposed to Naruto's prank. He rose, picking up the fruit basket, and left the room, Naruto following him. The whiskered boy stopped at the door, bouncing on his feet and beckoning Ino.

"Ugh, boys are sooo dumb!" Ino shouted, disgusted by their willingness to tease the sick Akimichi boy, yet she still followed the two shinobi.

* * *

The bloodlust rolling off the red head was palpable in the air. It paled in comparison to what Orochimaru showed her, but still, for someone so young, it was truly unimaginable. Truly frightening. She found herself behind Naruto, a hand on his shoulder, she could feel him shaking slightly, not unaffected by the Suna genin's blood lust. It was pathetic to hide like that, especially with both Naruto and Shikamaru fearing the enemy, but she felt much safer this way.

The boy, Gaara, told them his story, his loneliness, his desire to find purpose, and his thirst to kill. Ino felt her knees trembling. How could anyone survive suffering like he did?

"I was alone too." Naruto started, drawing the attention of the other three. "Why was I alive? What was the point? I was looking for answers too. In that way we are the same."

The revelation shocked Ino, she never heard about this from the normally boisterous boy. Shikamaru also displayed an equally startled expression.

"But I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I met Iruka-sensei, who treated me like a human. I felt alive then. I got to know Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and Ino…"

Ino gripped his shoulder tightly, not fully understanding him, however she reassured him the best she could.

"We might seem similar, but we couldn't be more different! You think you're strong because you're alone?" Naruto growled, glaring at the Suna-nin. "Come and see! The bonds I've made, there's no way in hell they'll lose to a loner like you!"

More sand started spilling out of the gourd. Raising to the ceiling swirling around, ready to drink blood.

"Naruto, Ino, get ready!" Shikamaru cried out as his Shadow Possession began to recede.

Naruto muscled were coiled, ready to pounce. Ino barely slowed her breathing and reached for her kunai pouch, cursing internally as she realized of course she did not have it with her since they were at the hospital.

"Fine, let me feel it!" The monstrous boy exclaimed, his chakra-controlled sand rushing toward the leaf genin.

"Enough!" The hospital door opened to reveal the green spandex clad figure of Might Guy. Ino was never happier in her life to see such an atrocious wardrobe choice. "There's no need to be hasty. Save it for the main matches tomorrow…unless you would like to be put in one of these beds?"

The red head glared at the jounin before grabbing his screaming in pain. The genin took a step back startled, but Might Guy did not budge. When his screaming finished, the Suna-nin seemed to calm down and withdrew his sand before walking towards the exit, looking back to make one last remark. "One day, I'll kill all of you. Just wait."

The oppressive atmosphere and blood lust lifted, Ino fell to her knees. Her breaths becoming quicker again and her heart still hammering in her chest.

"Ino!" Naruto kneeled next to her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a second." Ino gave her friend a weak smile. She wiped a few beads of sweat off her forehead that had formed due to the stress of the encounter.

"Damn, that was close. Thank you, sensei." Shikamaru let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Yeah! Thanks a lot, Bushy Brow-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, punching his fist toward the jounin.

"I'm glad I came to check on Lee. That boy is…" Guy did not finish his sentence, staring at the exit from which Gaara left. The three genin understood implicitly what Guy was implying about the dangerous Suna genin.

"I'm going to take Ino home." Naruto told the other two before standing up and offering the kunoichi a hand. Ino took it without thinking, helping each other up after training was ingrained into her muscle memory now.

"No, Naruto, you should go home and rest." Ino protested, but from the look in his eyes, she could tell she would not win this argument. His hand gripped hers firmly, she could feel his warmth relaxing her already.

"Later, Shikamaru. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye Bushy Brow-sensei." Naruto nodded toward the two shinobi who returned his action before started walking toward the exit, hand-in-hand with Ino.

Ino waited until they were on the streets before she opened her mouth. "Uh, Naruto, I'm feeling better, you don't have to hold my hand anymore." She whispered lowly, maybe hoping he would not hear her.

"Oh sorry," The blonde looked at her apologetically, letting her hand go. Instantly she regretted telling him that, she could still use his comfort.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Ino stopped walking and began fidgeting with her hands.

"Huh?" Confusion was clear on his face.

"Shikamaru and you were standing up to that guy and I was just cower-"

"Stop." Naruto expression almost reached a glare. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault that guy is such a monster. Me n' Shikamaru were scared too." He stepped forward and grabbed her hand placing it over his chest. "Feel that?" She could feel his heart hammering. "I'm still shook up…but, no matter what, I won't let him hurt you. That's a promise." Naruto stated genuinely, his eyes burning with clarity.

"I-I don't need you to protect me." Ino replied hotly, pulling her hand away, she is sure her ears are going to melt off from how hot they are. "You should worry about yourself first. You're fighting Neji, he's no slouch, either."

Naruto laughed, it used to sound like nails on a chalkboard, now Ino thinks it might just be an acquired taste, and it brings a smile to her face unintentionally.

"Don't worry, he's no match for the great Naruto-sama! I'll wipe the floor with him, then beat Sasuke and become a chunin. Then I'll ask Sakura-chan on a date and she'll have to say yes." Naruto declared proudly, pounding his chest.

This time, Naruto's smile puts ice water in Ino's belly, but she ignores it, giving him a tight smile, closing her eyes so he could not realize it did not quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure the only reason she's not dating you is because you're not a chunin, Naruto. Definitely doesn't have to do with you being short, loud, and ugly." She teased.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy, y'know!" Naruto ignoring her other two insults brought another genuine smile to her face. "Now c'mon let me get you home so I can go train some more!"

"Naruto! No training, go home and rest after this." Ino commanded as she started walking again, her fellow blonde following in line next to her, his hands hooked behind his head. They walked in silence on the way to the flower shop where she lives. Ino can tell Naruto is deep in thought about what happened and Ino cannot blame him, she's still thinking about it too, especially what Naruto said.

When they arrive at her store, Naruto gives her a thumbs up and begins to leave when Ino's hand snakes out, catching his wrist and stopping him.

Naruto's eyes blink, surprised, but he settles on a gentle smile as he meets her eyes. She's stupid for thinking this, but sometimes she feels that smile is meant just for her. "What is it, Ino?"

"You, um, you said some strange things back there. About being a monster, about not feeling alive…" Ino trailed off, not sure what more she could say. "I don't get it, Naruto." She looked at the boy, his expression was melancholic, his smile strained under some pressure she could not identify.

"Ino…you, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, even guys like Shikamaru and Choji, and Sakura-chan, Hinata, Kiba, Shino…" Naruto struggled for a second, clearly unable to find the right words. Then his expression changed again, passion seeped into his eyes. She felt his arms wrap around her suddenly and she reciprocated the action. This is the first time he hugged her, she cannot help but notice. He treats his embrace as if she is something fragile, but she grips him tightly, almost crushingly. "You're important to me, Ino." He whispers almost absentmindedly into her ear.

"You're important to me too, Naruto." Her voice cracks, feeling hoarse from the emotions stewing inside of her.

The shorter blonde pulled back, his face pink from embarrassment, a goofy grin on his face, his eyes gleaming with happiness.

"I know Ino, I know." He smiles, and she's sure this one is just for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ino wiped tears from her eyes as she placed the flower on the altar. She always considered the man to be so separate from her, someone everyone idolized. It was only in his death that memories of his warmth resurfaced.

She remembers him visiting the academy and Sakura and herself giving him flowers that he accepted happily.

He was the Hokage, but he treated everyone in the village as a family member.

Asuma-sensei, the son of the Third Hokage, delivered a beautiful eulogy that almost brought fresh tears to Ino's eyes, but she felt Naruto take her hand in his and that was enough to quell them. She squeezed gently on his hand and he reciprocated the action.

As the ceremony began to wind down, the light rainfall and dark clouds cleared up, a bright sun and beautiful sky replacing them.

"It's befitting for such a man as him." Sasuke remarked, staring at the sky, and Naruto sounded his agreement.

As the ceremony tapered off, Team Seven bid farewell to each other and Ino began to make her way home.

"Wait up!" Naruto called, chasing her down.

"What is it?"

Naruto beamed, warmth radiating off him as he wrapped his hands behind his head. "Let me walk you home."

Ino began to open her mouth in protest, but decided against it, smiling delicately at her friend. "Okay, thank you, Naruto."

The two walked side by side and Ino could smell the lingering incense on the whiskered youth's funeral clothes. When she arrived at the funeral, the smell saddened her, but now, it felt comforting.

In what seemed like seconds, they arrived at the front door of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"See you tomorrow, Ino." Naruto said as he waved.

Ino, however, reached out, cupping his injured face in her palm. The action came to her naturally, like taking a breath, and Naruto did not flinch or blush or react, other than with the mild curiosity in his eyes. She knew it was the same for him too.

"Your face." She murmured, her thumb brushing against the large bandage on his left cheek. Another one stood on the middle of his forehead. "Why didn't anyone heal you?"

"No one's had time. It's been so busy. Besides, it will heal soon." Naruto remarked easily, and it was the truth. The invasion wrought massive damage to Konohagakure and injured many ninja and civilians; which medic-nin could spare time to heal the superficial injuries of a genin?

Ino sighed and then ripped the bandage off his cheek.

"Ouch!" Naruto recoiled while grabbing his face.

"Don't be a baby." Ino rolled her eyes and went for the other thick bandage.

"I've got it!" Naruto took a step back hastily before gently beginning to peel it off his wound.

"You know, going slowly is just going to make it hurt more?"

But Naruto ignored her, concentrating with his tongue sticking out as he slowly pulled off the bandage, making painful pants halfway through. When he finished, he presented it to the Yamanaka heir and grinned proudly.

"Oh, just come here." Ino demanded, and the whiskered boy stepped toward the girl once more, entering her personal space. Ino formed a seal and guided chakra toward her right hand, causing it to glow pale green. She brought her hand up to Naruto's face and he let out a gasp as Ino began to heal the cut on his forehead.

When she finished with that, she slid her hand to his injured cheek, working her jutsu once more. Naruto narrowed his eyes in a daze from her treatment and he nuzzled his cheek against her hand, letting out a small purr.

Ino tried not to let the act disturb her healing, but she could not stop her breath from hitching in her throat once or twice.

She finished soon after and, when she withdrew her fingers off his face, she felt the marginally indented whisker marks briefly. They were pleasant to the touch.

He smiled gently at her and she smiled back, a warm sensation rushing in her stomach.

"Thank you, Ino."

"Anytime, Naruto."

Naruto opened his mouth then closed it, his face flushing slightly.

Ino tilted her head, curious. "What is it?"

She saw the boy's tongue snake out and quickly wet his lips. "You, um…when you heal me, it feels nice, so, uh, thanks."

It came out as a croak and she saw his ears in particular burn darker.

"Oh…okay." Ino mumbled, completely unsure what to make of Naruto's remark. The shorter blonde seemed to notice and he started talking again.

"No, I mean, that's not exactly what I mean to say! It's like…damn it why are words so hard?" He grumbled and shoved his cheek against his palm, clearly trying hard to think. "Damn it, it's like…I can feel that you care and stuff, when you heal me. And that's, what feels nice." He nodded once, sure of himself.

Ino swallowed thickly, feeling her embarrassment rising. "Yeah, of course."

"I just wanted to make sure you know. You knowing that I think that about you…it's important, right?"

The platinum blonde could not fight back the colour from her skin anymore. Naruto, inept with words as he was, knew how to use the few he understood. "Yes, it is, thank you, Naruto." Ino feared if she kept this up, she might start crying again.

"I'll see ya tomorrow." Naruto grinned at her before departing.

Ino watched his retreating back for a moment. Somehow knowing that the loudmouth blonde from the academy could look and sound mature when he needed too…it sent that warm sensation rushing into her stomach again.

She closed the door, looking forward to meeting up with Team Seven the next day.

* * *

Ino watched Naruto crouched over trying to manifest chakra in his hands like Sasuke could. Kakashi lazily observed him.

It was nothing like Sasuke's gracefully performance of the technique. Naruto looked quite foolish, honestly, and Ino could not squash the giggle that escaped her lips.

The avenger glanced her way before turning his attention back to the duo a bit further away.

Ino gazed at her stoic teammate, his handsome features set in a stony expression. It was remarkable how different both Sasuke and Naruto were from each other. Ino indulged herself in staring at the Uchiha for a moment then cleared her throat before speaking.

"Sasuke-kun," Ino felt her heart beat faster as she addressed her crush, "You saved us from the Sand-nin, right?" She remembered that the unstable Suna-nin transformed into some sort of half human-half beast. She tried to protect Sasuke from one of his attacks and was pinned to a wall instead. It was extremely embarrassing, but at least Sasuke saved her. That though alone riveted her, like a fairy tail prince come to save her.

A moment passed, and Ino somehow thought she offended him with the question when he finally responded.

"No." Another pause. Watching Sasuke's gaze, she realized the avenger was not observing Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. The handsome boy fixated solely on their blonde teammate. "Naruto was the one who saved you."

"Naruto did?" Shock present on Ino's face as she turned back toward the boy trying his best to control electricity in his palm.

"Yes he…he fought to save you like his life depended on it. I'd never seen him look so powerful."

Ino heard it so strongly in Sasuke's voice she almost thought she hallucinated.

Admiration. It dripped from the raven-haired shinobi's words.

"Naruto did." Ino murmured to herself, and she did not need to be convinced further. More than Sasuke, more than Kakashi-sensei, she knew how hard the boy worked. How badly he wanted to be acknowledged.

To hear that Naruto was the one to save her…to hear that Naruto beat the terrible creature with the strength he worked so hard to obtain…

Ino's heart soared. She covered her mouth with her palm, trying to hold back her grin, but it was futile.

Naruto saved her. Naruto saved her! The dead last, the loser of the academy, he beat the scariest genin she'd ever seen!

It made her giddy. It made her prideful.

It made her happy.

"He's grown a lot, hasn't he?" Ino beamed unabashedly at her crush.

Sasuke eyebrows narrowed in surprise at her statement, but grunted in agreement.

Ino hummed to herself and watched Naruto still struggling to attempt the jutsu, still looking foolish, still the incredible shinobi Ino knew he was.

* * *

"Naruto." She called out to him as he descended the stairs from the roof. He stared at his hand, as if the secret of the Chidori would be found in his palm.

"Hm? Ino? What's up?" He looked up at her, a dumb expression marking his face.

The giddiness returned to her. Something about knowing how strong he was, how he protected her…it was like she and Sasuke were the only two in the entire village that knew a giant secret about their teammate.

"What?" Naruto asked, eyeing his teammate warily.

Ino stepped toward her fellow blonde, and a giant smile broke out on her face. She reached over and wrapped her arms around the shorter ninja.

Naruto let out a yelp at the sudden physical affection, but eventually let himself sink into her embrace, hugging her back.

His body was like a furnace, heating her through. It made Ino feel content, and she regretfully pulled back to smile at him again.

"C'mon, Ino!" Naruto's cheeks tainted red and his voice whiney, but experience told Ino that her affection did not displease him. "What's this all about?"

The proud whisker marks on his face called out to her and she leaned over, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Naruto made a straggling sound as he took several quick steps back and tripped over his own feet, landing on his butt, staring up at the Yamanaka heir. He slapped his hand over the spot she kissed him.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Ino asked sweetly, bending over to help the boy, but he jumped up on his own violation, landing on his feet. Ino never say the boy's face this particular shade of red before.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto shrieked and his voice cracked half way, but nothing further could compound his embarrassment.

A perfect opportunity for Ino to make fun the childish blonde, however, something about his innocent reaction charmed Ino and she could not bring out her regular vivre to tease him.

"Naruto, I want to thank you. I talked to Sasuke-kun, he told me that you saved me from the Suna-nin." The earnestness in her calmed him down and he breathed out slowly, dropping his hand from his face.

"You're welcome, didn't hafta kiss me though." Naruto grumbled, but he stepped forward again, to that comfortable distance the two shared.

Ino smiled at his attitude, but still apologized. "Sorry, I didn't think you would hate it."

"Weelll," Naruto drug the word out, glancing at the ground before staring her straight in the eyes, "I didn't hate it or anything. Just, um, save that for Sasuke or whatever next time. If…if you do that to just any guy, he'll get the wrong idea, y'know?"

Ino's heart fluttered. She hated to think like this about her blonde teammate. She always considered him the least desirable guy in their academy class, but she would be lying if she did not admit he looked and acted completely adorable at that moment.

"Oh, Naruto, that's so sweet."

"Whatever." He scoffed, and she wondered if he though she mocked him.

"Naruto, Naruto." She cooed his name, and, today, it felt like candy in her mouth, like she could keep calling out to him until her breath ran out.

"What?" He seemed irked, his brow furrowed and his arms crossed petulantly…cutely.

"Really, thank you, I mean it."

He closed his eyes, and his cheeks flushed again. When he opened them, they were clear like the sky after the funeral yesterday.

"Ino, I promised you I'd protect you from that guy, right?" He smiled broadly, his teeth almost glinting in the sun. "I always keep my promises, y'know?"

"I know." Ino smiled. "Can you tell me, about how it went down?"

Naruto wrapped his hands behind his head. "Sure thing! It was really epic actually…" Before the orange-clad shinobi could continue, his stomach rumbled fiercely, forcing a giggle out of Ino. "Ah man, trying to learn Chidori makes you pretty hungry, huh?"

Ino's giggles turned into a full-blown laugh, and her teammate scowled at her, waiting for her to calm down.

"Ay, Ino, want to get lunch and I'll tell about the fight?"

"Sure thing, Naruto, let's get Ichiraku. Let me pay today." She expected the shorter boy to yell in delight and rush towards the ramen stand, but, instead, his face flashed through some conflicted emotions. "What's wrong?"

"Um, y'know, we usually just pay for our own meal."

"I know, but it's my treat. I mean what's a small meal when you saved my life!"

Naruto cleared his throat, looking nervous. "Yeah, I know, but, it's kind of like a date or something, isn't it?"

Ino's instincts took over and she fluttered her eyes at her teammate, "Oh, what's that? Do you _want_ to go on a date with little ol' me?"

Naruto made a choking sound, taken by her act, before he responded. "Well, y'know, it's like, don't you care if Sasuke finds out?"

Ino blinked, processing the question for a moment, wondering what Sasuke-kun had anything to do with this. But she quickly pieced together what the real issue was. She spat out her next words icily. "You'll only go on a date with Forehead, I get it. Whatever."

A sickness burrowed itself in her stomach and her appetite disappeared. Who cared about hearing a dumb story from Naruto anyway? She turned her back to him, beginning to leave.

"No." Naruto grasped her hand and turned around to yell at him to let go, but his eyes shut her up. They burned brightly with resolve. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Let's get lunch together, Ino."

Ino felt her mouth go dry from his decidedness, but a kernel of bitterness still remained. "W-what are you going to do if I call it a date then?"

His smiled churned her stomach up like butter. "Then I'm lucky to have my first date with such a pretty girl, huh?"

"Oh, shut up, doofus." She spat, fire scorching the back of her neck, as she slapped his arm furiously, but her companion laughed heartily.

"Really, sorry, Ino. I didn't mean to make you mad." His gentle grin like a soothing balm, settling the ornery girl down.

"Okay, okay, stop apologizing. I just wanted to thank you anyway, let's not make a big deal about this." Ino huffed, as she grasped his hand and began leading the two toward Ichiraku.

* * *

Ino returned home in a daze, barely registering her mother's greeting as she walked up the stairs to her room. She flopped on her bed, her mind swirling from the events that Naruto told her. Maybe he was a really good story teller, or maybe the battle was simply that epic. Either way…A Tanuki beast, giant toads, balls of wind and water chakra so powerful they made rainstorms when they collided, a Kyuubi transformation!

And Naruto winning, beating the scariest, most dangerous genin she's ever seen.

She had a front row seat and she missed it!

Ino groaned a pick up a pillow, hugging it. She kept thinking about something Naruto said at the ramen stand.

"I thought I might lose, for a second, but then I saw you, still pinned to the tree. And I knew, even if I died, I had to save you."

What he said, the way said it, and the way his cerulean eyes pierced into hers…

She screamed into her pillow then threw it at the wall, her face heating up in agitation and embarrassment.

What was wrong with her?

Naruto? Naruto?!

That doofus? Just because he got a little cooler, a little stronger? She was only feeling weird because he saved her, that was it. It's not like she even wanted that, she'd rather walk by his side, not be protected by him!

Well.

Knowing he saved her _did_ cause butterflies to roam in her stomach. But, that had more to do with the idea of being saved, then the fact that it was Naruto who saved her!

Right?

Ino groaned again and stood up, pacing the floor, wishing it was Sasuke who rescued her. It would make her life much easier. The gallant, talented Uchiha made so much more sense than the dim-witted, orange-wearing idiot.

That idiot with those beautiful blue eyes…

"God, why?!" Ino shouted at her ceiling, not really understanding all the emotions frothing within her.

"Ino, dear, are you alright?" Her mother called from downstairs.

"I'm fine, mama!" Ino yelled back before lying back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling and recalling Naruto's stupidly cute face, the many fascinating expressions dancing across it as he told her that amazing story.

* * *

"I'm done watering the plants, Ino, is there anything else?"

"No, thanks a lot, Naruto!"

Thankfully for Ino, the team took a small hiatus as the whole village, ninja and civilians alike, pitched in to help clean and rebuild Konoha. That, along with her regular duties at the flower shop, meant she barely saw her teammates or sensei for little over a week, and, during that time, her strange mixture of emotions and thoughts she felt about Naruto finally simmered down.

So, when he waltzed in today, to help her out at the store, she did not feel awkward in the least.

Did she, maybe, have a fleeting thought that he looked cute, wide smile and eyes shining? Perhaps, but probably not. Even if she did, it's not like it meant anything. Like how her weird emotions passed, this weird sensitivity to his appearance would pass as well, even if it took a bit longer.

"So," Ino started, quirking an eyebrow, "Are you going to tell me the reason you decided to come and help me without me dragging you here?"

Naruto opened his mouth, his brow bent in objection, when his features shifted into a sheepish grin. "Was it that obvious?"

"Well, duh. You can't really hide anything from me, Uzumaki." Ino smirked, her elbow propped on the counter and her face resting in her palm.

"Right, right." Naruto laughed. "Er, well, see, the thing is I'm leaving the village tomorrow, and I probably won't be back for a couple weeks."

"What?" Ino jolted up in surprise. "Even though we are rebuilding the village?"

"This is an important mission." Naruto began, nodding sagely. "Me and pervy sage are going to find the next Hokage."

"The next Hokage? Really, who is it going to be?"

Naruto scowled, "I don't know! Pervy sage wouldn't tell me, can you believe that? But I have to go, y'know? I have to make sure this guy is a proper successor to the old man, and not some loser."

"Of course, you are the most qualified to judge." Ino teased playfully.

"Of course!" Naruto puffed out his chest with pride.

"Okay, that's great an all, but what does that have to do with helping me? Not that I minded."

Naruto winked at the platinum blonde, grinning impishly. "Well, I thought you would miss me, so I squeezed in some extra Naruto time for you before I leave."

"What? That's so dumb." She giggled. "I would completely fine without some extra 'Naruto time.' In fact, a small break from you might do me wonders. My ear drums can finally heal from all the damage your shrill voice does."

"Wow, Ino, if I wasn't so manly, I would be crying from the verbal abuse you dish out on the regular, you know that?"

Ino rolled her eyes, a large smirk on her face. "Oh, stop being so melodramatic."

"Well, y'know, what I really came here for is to spend some time with you before I go." Naruto admitted leaning into the counter, his demeanor shifting from playful to…something else, as he looked up into her eyes.

Ino felt her throat drying up, seeing the tender affection swimming in his beautiful blue orbs. "And so, you decided to help me with some chores?"

"Hmm, just being around you is enough. It's fun." He drawled simply, uncomplicated, but it sent a torrent of emotions swirling inside Ino.

"Right." She finally mustered, tepidly.

"Right!" Naruto flashed her his gigawatt smile and Ino wished the ground would open up a hole and swallow her right up, like one of Kakashi-sensei's Doton jutsus.

Naruto pulled away from the counter, giving it a friendly slap. "Anyway, I'll see you later."

Ino watched him leave, unable to feel her face. She covered her face with her hands, the heat like fresh coals against her palms.

"It's just Naruto. It's just Naruto. It's just Naruto." She muttered her mantra until her face cooled down and she was able to push the blonde boy's stupid face far, far away in the back of her mind.

* * *

Ino put an apple in a small bag, so that she could take it with her on her visit to see Sasuke. She took one each day she went, yet he stayed in his coma, so she was forced to eat it herself. But she did not waver, visiting everyday and bringing an apple everyday.

She said farewell to her mother as she left the shop, heading towards the hospital. The village was beginning to clean up quite well, most of the rubble removed and many of the damaged buildings fixed. In maybe another week or so, Konoha would be looking as good as new.

She rounded the corner and she spotted a shock of blonde hair belonging to her teammate she was beginning to miss.

"Naruto!" She yelled out and the boy turned, surprised. His face quickly turned in a massive grin as he sprinted to meet her.

Joyously, he began to gush. "Ino! Ino! Guess what? I found someone who can help Sasuke!"

Ino paused, taking in the information, before shrieking in delight. "That's amazing, who is it?!"

"Hehe, it's the old lady named Tsunade, she's an amazing medic, y'know?"

Ino's eyes widened into saucers. "Tsunade-sama, you brought Tsunade-sama back!?"

"Ah, you know her?"

"How do you not, she's one of the great Sannin!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking baleful. "Well, I didn't really like reading the history books, y'know?"

Ino sighed at the expected response, but ended up grinning toward him anyway. She wet her lips, a bead of nervousness running through her as she began to ask her next question. "So is she…"

As if he could sense her anxiousness, Naruto beamed at her and cut in. "The next Hokage, yeah! And don't worry she's Uzumaki approved."

"Konoha thanks you for your service, Naruto." Ino jeered, but her smile was sincere.

"You're mocking me, right? Bah, whatever, let's go see Sasuke. Granny is checking on Bushy Brows first, but she'll come see the bastard next."

Naruto spun on his heels, weaving his fingers together behind his head and walked toward the hospital at a brisk pace. Ino followed next to him, still basking in the delight of seeing him after so long and knowing Sasuke would wake up soon.

As the reached the steps leading up into the building, Naruto grabbed Ino's hand and halted her.

"Hey, Ino, one second."

"What is it, Naruto?" She noticed his grip was tighter than usual, and he looked a bit anxious.

"Um, when we were looking for granny, we stopped by a small village and there was this festival going on, see?" Naruto rambled on as he let go of her wrist and began rummaging in his pocket for something. "And, uh, I played some games and stuff and when I was pretty much done, I passed this stall and…"

"Yes?" Ino tilted her head, wondering what he was being so long-winded for.

"Y'know I, uh, saw something and I thought of you." Naruto mumbled holding out his hand.

Ino pointed at herself, her eyes widening in shock. "For me?"

Naruto nodded and Ino held her hand out. Naruto cupped it with one hand and gently placed the object in her palm.

It was a hair pin, baby-blue, almost the colour of her eyes.

"It's cheap I know, but I thought it would suit you or something." Naruto dragged the toe of one of his sandals back and forth on the dirt a few times as he spoke. His eyes glued to ground on his own actions.

"Wow, Naruto, that's so sweet." Ino breathed, examining the gift in her hands.

Knowing that Naruto thought about her while he was gone set her heart a flutter in that way she hated. The type of way where her body and mind synched together and screamed at her, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just her friend and teammate. He was a boy!

She swallowed thickly from the thought before a flash of pink entered her mind. Her mood dampened as she began to think about Naruto and his crush. "This is so sweet, Naruto, but you should give the hair pin to Sakura."

Naruto's head almost snapped as he funneled his eyes off the ground and straight into her sight. "Hunh?"

Ino hesitated, but powered through with her words. Her voice wavered a bit, and she hoped he would not notice. "You like her, right? I'm sure she'll love it, it's a pretty gift, really."

Naruto stood, mouth agape, before he frowned angrily and took the pin back.

Ino felt her heart drop to her stomach, knowing she upset him, but also knowing this was the right decision.

Then Naruto stepped forward suddenly and grasped her head gently, pulling back some hair and tucking the hair pin on it. "There!"

"N-naruto, what are you doing?"

"I didn't buy that for Sakura-chan. I bought it for you." He stepped back, admiring his handiwork. "I might not have any taste or nothing, but I think it looks real good on you."

His smile was like the sun, and Ino's face began to melt off.

"C'mon, Sasuke's waiting for us." Either oblivious or uncaring about her reddened state, Naruto began hopping up the stairs, humming happily to himself.

Ino, dumb and mute, barely possessed enough strength to begin chanting her mantra as she followed her teammate up the steps.


End file.
